Arc Aile's Memoir
by Merfond Librodec
Summary: Long before they met Cou. Long before they met Ren. Long before they knew of Chaos Choir. Long before they knew of the Red Lynx. Long before they became a team. Long before Myna was shot. Long ago when Arc Aile was still somewhat young, Rowen met Kuea, and the two of them met Cisqua. They've gone through the muck and the mire, but in the end it only made their friendship stronger.
1. Interviews

Rowen wasn't expecting this today. In fact, he was so surprised and excited that he nearly slipped in the shower.  
"Rowen!" A banging on his door followed. "Hurry up, we have a tight schedule this morning!"  
He stuck his head out of the plastic curtain. The door was still locked, thank God. That meant that nobody was coming to barge in.  
The man cleared his throat.  
"Don't worry Lieutenant Cruz!" He called. "I'll be out in a minute, I'm just about to finish up!"

Excitement was pooling in the pit of his stomach, giving off that sensation of butterflies flying around in a windstorm. He could barely control the shaking in his arms as he shut the water off and grabbed his towel. It was funny when he looked up and saw himself through the mirror as he threw the drying cloth on the ground.

Rowen was 19 years old, a full grown man, and was grinning like a a child who saw a whole pack of Oreos left unattended on the counter. Full grown! And he was acting like a little kid! What would Lieutenant Cruz say when he saw him like this?  
Of course, Rowen didn't care though. All he could think about was what was going to happen in little over an hour as he threw on his robe. After several years of working for the Arc Aile Total Protection Agency, all of the alone work he has done was about to pay off.

It wasn't long before Rowen caught himself standing in front of the mirror allowing his mind to saunter elsewhere. If he didn't hurry he may not make it. After all, Arc Ail was always tight on time; if you were a minute late, it goes against you and stands out like a sore thumb swollen to the size of Texas on your records.  
There was another banging on the door by the time he had slipped a white sock onto his foot. The banging was louder than before, warning Rowen to pick up his pace.  
"You have two minutes, Rowen!" Cruz called from the other side of the wooden postern. "If you don't hurry up you'll have to wait another month to get this opportunity!"

By then he had just gotten finished sliding his foot into the thick brown boots the sat in front of him, and he was immediately running to the door, leaving the towel and his sleeping clothes on the tile ground of the bathroom. This was odd given the fact that Rowen was always a neat and tidy person who would become aggravated at the sight of a dust covered anything in his room. But he had to hurry. Rowen hated being late and having a nasty blotch on the things he does, specifically things that were documented.

"Alright!" He yelled as soon has he open the door, which immediately came into contact with the Lieutenant. It hit him with a loud clunk, and Rowen soon found one of the big dogs he worked for on the ground.

With a rather horrified gasp, the blonde rushed over to the man.  
"L-Lieutenant Cruz I'm so sorry are you okay?" His worried tone asked. "I had no idea you were that close to the door!"  
The man let out a sigh; Cruz was always a tolerant person who rarely got upset, and when he did, it was over appropriate reasons. He never screamed at someone for getting him the wrong coffee or the wrong creamer, instead he would yell at a Guardian for getting in a fight with another. The Lieutenant wouldn't get mad at Rowen for accidentally opening a door and hitting him in the face... would he?

"I'm fine," the dirty blonde muttered after bringing a hand to his forehead. "We shouldn't waste time worrying over this. We're running late." He brought himself up, allowed his hand to leave his head, revealing a purple bruise right in between his eyes. It looked rather ugly, and Cruz had no idea of it's presence.

But Rowen was so excited he didn't care. He just laughed.

The hallway seemed unusually long today, stretching three long football fields until it got to the end. Through Rowen's eyes at least; and that caused the butterflies swimming around in his stomach to somehow multiply and become worse. The feeling almost made him want to vomit. To hurl all over the place and carry on and let it be someone else's problem for a change. But Rowen couldn't throw up in the middle of the hall! Not on his special day! Not at his workplace! And especially not in front of the Lieutenant!

"You're quiet today, Rowen." Cruz smiled. He walked beside him, arms crossed behind his back and dolphin gray eyes set forward. "So I assume that you are too excited to speak. You never talk when you are anticipating something."  
Rowen's hands frantically shivered, both out of terror and joy. He couldn't wait for what was coming next. For when he-a grin broke out on his face as the thought walked into his mind.

"I'm sorry." He laughed while he attempted smother his smile to make him seem more 'manly.' "I am very excited to start." Another laugh. "The hallway feels like it goes on forever."  
The man next to him shook his head. He could tell Rowen couldn't keep himself calm, which no one really couldn't blame. The young man's eyes were brighter than usual, giving a spark in those purple eyes that were otherwise neutral and strived to be perfect. For the first time ever, Rowen was acting immature.

"Lieutenant Cruz, I'm excited!" He suddenly squealed.  
There was a weird glance Cruz turned to him. "Calm down, I understand you're excited, but you cannot let that get the best of you." The man told him. "The only advice I can give you is that you should be yourself in order to set the proper impression." He smiled. "It isn't common for you to be this bubbly. You shouldn't let the ones you talk to get the wrong idea of who you truly are."

Slowly, the grin softened into a small smile as the silence followed the Lieutenant's words. He just had to be himself and things will go fine. At least things were supposed to go fine. Right? Everyone can love Rowen, that was just the kind of person he was. An all around lovable person who is difficult to hate.  
But other thoughts flooded into his mind on the way to the central office in the heart of the Arc Aile protection grounds, the place where all of the important people in the organization worked. People like Lieutenant Cruz and General Falk; they were important people in Arc Aile.

As Lieutenant Cruz opened the glass door for entry, he looked to the young, very excited young man next to him.  
"There are some things I need to discuss with you before you start, Rowen." The man muttered to him as they walked into the front lobby. But before he could continue his statement, a woman at the front desk called out to them.  
"Ooh! It's Mr. Rowen's special day!" She said with a grin. "Be yourself! They'll be all over you and will be praying they get chosen!"

Rowen couldn't help but blush with the attention he has been given from people around work. Everyone was standing there, cheering him on like he was running a marathon, stealing the lead and about to cross the finish line in first place. So in response to the woman's kind encouragement, he gave the her a polite wave, and a famous smile.  
"You have my gratitude." He replied to her. "I hope what you say is true."

The man next to him let out a sigh and tugged on his shoulders, making the younger one turn around to look at him.  
"Might I remind you that we are late, Rowen?" Cruz muttered. "I still need to have a word with you before hand. Your Senior Officer Sunweld will be there to help me, you need to acknowledge the fact that this is a very important decision you are about to make."

As exciting the event coming up is, Rowen had come face to face with the fact that a very serious event was about to occur.  
He had to straighten his face, ignoring the woman at the desk standing on top of furniture, jumping up and down waving pompoms all over the place. Exciting things always came with the haunting of nervousness, the hoping that one wouldn't mess up in whatever it was.

They had to walk down another hallway once leaving the lobby. Three football fields long through his eyes like the last. But, to save him from having a heart attack, Rowen and Lieutenant Cruz stopped at a door in the very heart of the corridor.  
Cruz gazed at him. His eyes suddenly becoming the color of steel, hardening as though they were freezing.

"Remember Rowen, answer these questions truthfully." He muttered as he set on his hand on the door knob. Slowly, he opened it for it to lead into a small room. It's walls were painted in a rich apple red and the floor clothed in a brown carpet. In the upper right corner stood a fake elephant ear leaf bush next to the mahogany desk. That was where Sunweld sat, his hands atop the table and fingers laced together, next to him stood his Eldel Raid partner Chanton, better known by her nickname, Challo, with that trademark grin she always had painted on her face.

"Look Sunweld! He's here! He's here!" She cried with glee as she rushed up to the Lieutenant and the young blonde. Her long magenta hair flied along with her as she ran, and as soon as she met them, her arms flung around Rowen's torso.  
"We've been waiting forever for you two to hurry up!" She looked him in the eye. "You didn't spend too much time prepping, did you?"  
Rowen really didn't know why he was so late this morning; perhaps he did take too long getting ready. He was in the shower for at least thirty minutes washing parts of his body he hadn't bothered messing with since he did a job interview to join Arc Aile in the first place. The back of his ears had never felt this clean before in his life.

"And what about you, Lieutenant Cruz?" Sunweld laughed, reminding him of the large bruise on his forehead. "You looked fine this morning before you went to go pick up Rowen."  
A small blush crept across the other man's face as his fingers trailed up to the spot in between his eyes, as once it arrived he began to press on it.  
"Rowen was so excited he opened the door on my face." He smiled. "There's a bruise there now, isn't there?"  
Rowen's head lifted up from Challo.  
"I really am sorry about that Lieutenant," He muttered "I had no intentions of hurting you."  
Like always, Cruz shook it off with a relaxed smile. Of course he did, he always had a forgiving nature unlike General Falk.

"I'm well aware of that, Rowen." He soothed. "After all I am the one who decides whether or not you have this privilege. I would figure that you would give me more respect than slamming a door in my face."  
"Yes speaking of which," Sunweld suddenly said without giving anyone else a chance to say something. "Lieutenant Cruz and I have some stuff we need to chat about before we start." Quickly, his index finger pointed at a chair in front of the mahogany desk where he sat. "You wouldn't mind taking a seat, would you? I presume you don't."  
Rowen's eyes lit up again like they had on the way to the very room they stood in. A chat? They weren't going to go over things that he has been taught countless times over were they? Or were they going to say something he has never heard before? He hoped for that, after all, Rowen loved to learn new things about any subject whatsoever.

"Not at all, Senpai." He smiled as Challo detached from him. It was only a matter of seconds before he and Cruz were both sitting, one in each of the two chairs facing the desk, and in the mean time, Challo positioned herself behind her Pleasure like the faithful companion she was to him.

And so that's how it was on the silence. Rowen was next to Cruz, who had a stupid looking bruise on his forehead, and they both faced Sunweld who sat at the desk. Seconds later, he smiled.  
"Lieutenant Cruz and I thought it would be good before we started to have a talk." Sunweld told him. "And we both want you to answer this question very truthfully, we will not be upset with whichever answer you happen to give us. Do you promise you will answer what ever comes to your heart?"  
The younger blonde's face suddenly grew a lot more serious than it was before. This must have been an important question.

He nodded.  
"I do promise." He said. "I promise to reply in whichever answer my heart wishes."  
There was silence after that. The only sign of conversation was when Cruz and Sunweld turned a glance at one another, and it was then that the Lieutenant nodded his head.  
So after that, once having cleared his throat, Sunweld's gaze became sincere, and his fingers who were laced grew tighter against each other.  
"Rowen, do you truly wish to have an Eldel Raid partner to work along side you?"  
Once hearing this question, Rowen felt a wave of relief wash over him. Was that all they were asking? Of course he wanted a partner! He was excited about it all week ever since Lieutenant Cruz informed him that they were going to be doing interviews for him!

He could barely keep in his excitement before he answered.  
"I am very sure of that." He replied. "If an Eldel Raid is willing to volunteer to work with a Guardian to help protect others of its kind, I am more than obliged to cooperate with someone as such."

"That's quite a nobel answer, Rowen." Cruz said suddenly. "But I am sure that I don't need to remind you of another one of Officer Sunweld's apprentices took a different route and refused to work with an Eldel Raid years ago simply because she didn't feel right using her. We were perfectly fine with that. You are more than welcome to take the same road if that is what you wish."

Rowen frowned.  
"And I was there the day she declined, Lieutenant." He replied. "And I saw what happened afterwards. That Eldel Raid cried. I'm very sure that Sunweld's former apprentice was not aware that she was actually excited to work with her. I am not going to ruin somebody's opportunity if they truly wish to help."

The reaction both Sunweld and Cruz held was similar of someone who was impressed. Which they should be. Because what Rowen just said sounded like he wrote it before hand and rehearsed it for months. Like a valediction speech or something. Of course he didn't though, that was simply because Rowen was gifted with the ability to talk.  
"Well then," Sunweld's serious glare softened into a smile. "Just remember that when you are out on the field, that Eldel Raid's life comes first. I figure that you are already familiar with that rule we have established."

Of course he was. Sunweld said that to him everyday during training.  
"Yes sir." He replied.  
"And you have to be extra nice to her!" Challo exclaimed without warning. "We Eldel Raids may not exactly be human, but we're still ladies."

A nervous laugh escaped Rowen's lips. That was true. Eldel Raids were just like humans besides the obvious factor that made them separate, which was the ability to react and turn into weapons.  
"Of course." He agreed. "I know full and well not to treat any of you any different from any other female. "  
Sunweld sighed.  
"Well, I asked her not to shout out during this conversation..." He muttered. "But Challo is correct, do not treat her like a monster. They really aren't much different from you and I."

Yep. They were just telling him things he already knew. That quenched Rowen's excitement. He was going to talk to two, maybe three Eldel Raids at the most and then allow the big dogs in charge to decide which one of them would make the best partner for him based on their interactions. Then again, hopefully things would get interesting between now and then.

But, almost on cue, Lieutenant Cruz stood from his seat and let out a sigh.  
"Well Sunweld, I believe now is the time to get started."  
Immediately, the Officer stood along with him and turned to the older blonde.  
"I agree." He said with a smile. "I'm feeling a coffee craving coming along anyways. We should go get some before we go get the girls ready."  
"Good idea! I heard the cafeteria has a new mocha they made up, rumor has it that it's really good!" Challo said with all the bubbling her tone could muster.

And before Rowen knew it, he was all alone in that room, simply following the orders Lieutenant Cruz had given him before he left. Just wait here.

Thirty minutes had passed by the time Rowen lifted his head and to the door as it slowly opened. That was when a head peeped inside. A woman's head to be more exact. She had short golden hair that went down to her shoulders, the hue allowing ever grass green eyes to stand out to anyone who gazed at her.

"Good morning." Rowen smiled as she walked inside.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Am I the first one to have a conference with you?"  
Rowen's eyes sauntered off to the side; she was the first, and she held potential to one day be his work partner. He had to be himself, not some fake Rowen he would use to appeal to people easier. He had to make this meeting perfect. Perfectly Rowen.

But he couldn't be just himself to just this girl, he had to be himself for all three of the Eldel Raids he was going to be meeting. That was nerve racking considering the fact that while Rowen liked to talk, he could only talk for so long without his 'social energy' depleting.  
But each one of the Eldel Raids he met were extremely nice, and he enjoyed talking with them. So much to the point that he didn't even realize that when the hour was up that it had even been an hour.

The first he spoke with was the third class Eldel Raid Maude, who had a strange liking for nature, animals and natural scenery. Sure it wasn't exactly anything that Rowen was interested in, but she was still friendly to the point that he wouldn't mind working hand in hand with her. He wasn't really sure what she thought of him, which was important because the Eldel Raid also had comply in order for the Gaurdian and her to work together.

The second was a first class named Corin, who in contrast to Maude was very different. Sure she was friendly, but she had a dark theme to her tone and appearance. Apparently she liked the dark and skulls; something Rowen wasn't exactly fond of either. But then again, he didn't really judge her by her opinions.

Rowen was actually really happy about this. He liked both of the Eldel Raids he had talked to so far a lot, enough to be fine with working with them. He was eager to be partnered up with one of them soon; after all, Rowen didn't like working alone, he liked having another person talk to when he did things. Three people to work with was a bit too much, but he could put up with it.

Up until then Rowen thought that the interviews were over, it was just up to Sunweld and Cruz to decide whether he should be paired up with Maude or Corin. But to his surprise, there was a third. And the third stood out way more than the previous two.

The door swung open.  
"Good morning, Mr. Eichel!" She said to him with a grin. There were countless things Rowen had to take in.  
This was an odd looking young woman little over a year younger. She was tall, slender with a good figure that complimented her smooth tan skin. On the upper half of her body was a short black top, and on the bottom was a long, somewhat translucent skirt with a pink tint. Her long silky brown hair was decorated with chains, silvery ones that hung down to her ears.  
But the oddest detail were the bunches of bags of chips in her arms. Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos, you name it, she had them.

Rowen gazed up at her from his seat with a relatively confused expression. But, to make the woman feel welcome, he smiled as she took a seat across from him in the chair that Cruz sat in hours ago.  
"It's Rowen, right?" She asked after popping a chip in her mouth. The crunching could be heard from where he sat, that was because it was loud. Very loud. Despite all that, he put a nervous smile on his face.

"That's correct." He replied. "And you?"  
The woman set another chip into her mouth and continued to crunch. She held up her index finger as though she were pointing to Heaven, her mouth moving, but no words came out. She was being polite, he knew that much. And a polite person was always seemingly a good person.

"Name's Kullweet Envatilia. First class." She grinned, revealing orange teeth from her chips. "But you can just call me Kuea because my full name is always a mouthful. It's very nice to meet you, Rowen Eichel." Her hand dug around in her chip bag, pulled one out, and offered it to him. "Want one? I didn't want to be rude."  
The man's eyes fell upon the chip. A Dorito to be more specific if you please. An orange, perfectly triangular, bubble filled Dorito. It... Actually looked good.

"Why thank you, Kuea." He said as his fingers took the chip from hers. "I was actually starting to get hungry from all that talking I've had to do for the past few hours.  
Kuea laughed.  
"Just be happy you're not like me." She said with a friendly beam. "I get hungry all the time regardless of what I do." She looked down at the several bags on the ground. "I guess you can see why I brought so much this morning. You seemed as though you were wondering."

He popped the chip into his mouth.  
"It's alright." Rowen replied after chewing a few times. He then swallowed. "Just as long as you don't leave a mess, we'd have to clean it up then."

The woman nodded her head as she continued to shovel Doritos into her mouth.  
"Oh that's right." Kuea mumbled. "Lieutenant Cruz told me a little before it was my turn to talk with you that you are a perfectionist. I see he wasn't joking around with me."  
The blonde looked up.  
"Really?" He questioned. "I get that a lot, especially from my parents, but I don't see what exactly makes me such a 'perfectionist.'"

With a shrug, then a laugh, Kuea leaned her chair back on two legs.  
"Well, you are." She replied. "I just met you and I can already tell." Another chip was thrown into her mouth, and then she began to chew. "So tell me more about yourself, Rowen." Was added while she handed another Dorito to him, which he accepted.  
While he ate the chip, Rowen couldn't think of any other thing; Kuea was very unique.

That could be a good statement, or it could be a bad statement. But that was all he could say as of now about this Kullweet Envatilia. She was uniquely different from the other three Eldel Raids he had talked with.  
The others were shy, but Kuea acted as though she had known him for years. She would stretch out every once in a while, prop her feet up on his knees then cross them, she even called him by his first name without a Mister to go in front of it.

"Let's see..." He began as a nervous smile crept across his lips. What was it she was wanting to hear from him? he knew little next to nothing about this Kuea person, so he had to idea what to say. Family life? Growing up? Hobbies? Phobias? What?  
He let out an uncertain chuckle. "I'm not exactly sure where to start." The male added. "Throw a subject at me."  
She paused during her chewing, allowing her jaw to linger a little over to the right, and gradually, her blood-red eyes wondered off to the corner of the room. She was thinking, that was all Rowen could conclude from the expression on her face. Her lower lip slowly slid up over the top, now pooched out as though she was pouting.

She wasn't though. Kuea was in deep hesitation. Thinking about a question to ask him. Of course this made Rowen feel a tad uneasy, hoping she wouldn't ask him stupid, or even too personal for him to feel comfortable answering.  
What were some possibilities here? Things he would feel uncomfortable answering. Like... What color is your underwear, or who did you date in high school. Perhaps the second question wouldn't be quite as bad to answer, considering that it was simple. He was working before he went to high school, so he never went out with someone. Easy!

"What about siblings?" Kuea suddenly asked, pulling Rowen from his train of thought and back into reality. "You got any?"  
The blonde sat up straighter than he had before, reached up to his head and began to finger around with his pony tail. He then cleared his throat.

"Nah." He replied. "I was an only child growing up." A smile spread across his face, and his eyes began to shut. "And boy was it nice. That was all I could think when I played with other kids who had a brother or sister."  
Kuea listened closely, quietly chewing on her Doritos, whose bag was on the brink of being empty. The deep red eyes she had gazed at him, seemingly deep with interest. Now that was when her mouth grew still, no longer in movement from chewing.  
"You grew up in a wealthy environment too, right?" She asked. "What was that like?"

A brow on Rowen's forehead anchored. He was born into a rather rich family, and it was when he was a young teenager that his parents told him that he needed to start working soon because they were not going to let him live under their roof forever. That was why he was working at Arc Aile now.

But how did Kuea know? The fact that he was the son of a rich family was mainly something that Rowen kept to himself about, he never wanted to brag and flaunt about it to others who weren't as lucky as he was. It was a decision he made when he joined Arc Aile that he wouldn't be boastful.  
Why? Because Rowen was well aware that he was better than everyone at everything, and with such a talent, people had a tendency to brag.

"Yeah, I was." He replied. "It was nice, and life was pretty easy. But it isn't really something I like going around telling everyone."  
"So why are you working, Rowen?" Kuea immediately asked once he was finished talking. "I have been meaning to ask you." She added, then dug her hand to the bottom of the chip bag and pulled the last Dorito out, then handed it to him. Of course, out of being courteous, Rowen took it.  
"Mother told me that if I didn't get a job before I was fifteen I would be living on on the streets." The blond laughed. "So here I am. And I love wor-

A suddenly loud squeaking noise stopped his sentence, causing him to look forward. Kuea had pulled out the Cheetos bag and was opening it, explaining the loud noise. When the top finally gave way, it made a loud pop.  
Kuea looked up.  
"Sorry, Rowen." She said with a grin. "Keep on."  
"No it's fine" the blonde sighed. "I was just saying that I enjoyed working here at Arc Aile."  
His sentence was followed by him gazing at her as she set a Cheeto in her mouth, then slowly begin to munch. He wasn't going or bother finishing what he was saying before.  
"I guess it's my turn to ask you a question." Rowen muttered as he leaned back.  
"Just as long as it has nothing to do with government." She replied after swallowing. "I wouldn't be able to answer you then."

A Cheeto was handed to him before he could speak.  
"Don't worry." He laughed. "Government is a touchy subject these days anyways. I won't ask you anything if that nature."  
He set the chip in his mouth, then chewed on it. Of course he took his time; savor the flavor Cruz would always say.

"Now a question to ask you..." he began. Then Rowen paused. What could be a proper question to ask her? He didn't want to end up asking Kuea something that would upset or embarrass her. Like accidentally asking her something personal. Something that normal people wouldn't want to answer.  
Instead, after feeling his mouth catch on fire, he had a better question to ask.

Panic took over his entire brain, which hurried to come up with a quick solution. Then, in a hurry, his stood to his feet, and his hands bolted to cover his mouth. Not long afterwards, the man rushed out the door, and soon down the hall, leaving the woman alone in the room. She sat there in the silence, staring at the opened door.  
"What flavor are those chips, Kuea?!" The woman heard him scream. Of course by the time Rowen would have been about halfway down the the hall, she took the chip bag and read the label.  
Almost immediately, a smile spread across her face like butter, and laughter soon broke free  
"Rowen isn't a fan of chili pepper flavor, is he?"

"I don't think I am going to want anymore of those," Rowen muttered as he walked into the room little over ten minutes later. Clutched in his hand was a plastic cup of water, his face was red as a tomato, and his expression held one of exhaustion, but the same time relief.  
After a laugh, Kuea stood from her seat.  
"I suppose I'm sorry for giving you one without warning you." She smiled. "But I think I'm glad it happened, I think I have figured you out now."  
Rowen took a sip of his water, well, to be more exact, he gulped down the rest of the contents. The naked eye could see his face slowly start to tone down from its former redness, which was apparently the blonde's goal in the first place.  
"I guess that is all that matters in the end." He groaned. "The entire point of this meeting is to get to know each other. What is it you think you've learned?"

The tanned woman let out a sigh, one that was not out of frustration. Of what it was of Rowen couldn't quite figure out. Her hand reached in the Cheetos bag, which turned out to be red hot Cheetos, took one out, and popped it into her mouth.  
"Well," she purred, then looked down at her fingers. They were covered in the red dust from the Cheetos, the stuff that would have stained something if it stayed on there long enough. Having seen that, she continued. "I have figured something out that may not be so obvious to others, and I can tell you try to hide it."

Then, almost in a blink of an eye, her chili pepper covered finger was on Rowen's uniform, which was white as snow I might add. His face twitched upon seeing the finger slowly slide down his chest, leaving a long skid mark of redness that was likely going to be hell to get out.  
Rowen gulped as his mouth sank lower down his face.  
"K-Kuea?" He muttered. "What are you doing?!"

The Eldel Raid's blood red eyes traveled up to his as her finger slowly lifted from his chest. An easy smile was spread across her face, almost too easy that it could be considered something sly. And sly it was he soon found out when both of her hands were on either side of his head right where his temple was.  
She cleared her throat.

"You, Rowen Eichel," Kuea began. "Have lots of pride that really shouldn't be there."  
The man colored. What was that supposed to mean? Sure he thought he was better at a lot of things than other people, but he never let it show. He wouldn't let it show even if his life was dependent on it. He always tried his hardest to be modest about his talents and not brag too much, so why did Kuea say what she said to him as if he was?

"I think you're mistaken." He mumbled.  
"Does that stain on your robe bother you?" She immediately replied, all the sudden seeming a bit more tense than she was when she first came into the room to meet him.  
Rowen gazed down at the red mark which trailed down his bosom. Of course it bothered him. Who wouldn't it bother? Those uniforms were not free, Arc Aile made you pay for a new one unless something happened to one during a fight against someone where means to protect an Eldel Raid were necessary. He doubted that telling the uniform issuer that Kuea put chili pepper from a Cheeto would be qualifying reason to get a new robe for free.

"Yes it bothers me." He said. "These cost a lot and it makes me look like a messy person."  
"There you go!" Kuea said in a voice that told him that she had concluded something. Her hands left the temple of his head upon yelling. "You're afraid of looking like a messy person. Rowen said it himself. A prideful man always cares about his appearance." She ate another Cheeto. "And that pride is what is going to be your downfall."

A brow anchored on the blonde's face.  
"Could you explain to me how?" He asked, tone giving away the face that he was confused. "I doubt a Cheeto stain will kill me."  
There was another crunch.  
"Of course a Cheeto stain isn't going to kill you, Rowen," she replied. "But the way you react to it will. Say that you're fighting someone, alright? And then the person you're fighting brings out a bag of red hot Cheetos, then begins to rub them all over your uniform. Then your desire to keep everything perfect will kick in, and you'll be dead set on getting that stain out of your shirt. While you're busy, the man will kill you. See what I mean?"

Silence followed, and Rowen stared at the woman before him. His gaze was hard, almost impossible to read. Of course Rowen wasn't really angry, he was... Upset.  
"You REALLY believe that I will care about a Cheeto stain during a fight?" He hissed. "And better yet, you believe that an enemy would use a bag of Cheetos to fight with me?"  
Kuea laughed.  
"Of course not!" She chortled. "When the time comes, an enemy may not use a bag of Cheetos," the Eldel Raid looked up at him with a smile. "But he will use your pride against you. Your fear of having a weakness is your weakness after all."

The man stared some more. That handful of statements Kuea made was... Interesting. His first impression upon her was that she was a laid back kind of person who did nothing but eat and somehow lose weight. Instead, she was clever. Kuea was one of those rare people who could see through another person's barriers they had erected over years like glass. Those words she said hit him deep, deep down in his heart. Deep enough to make him pause.  
Kuea was right. Rowen had a serious pride issue going on inside him. All it took was a hot Cheeto stain for her to realize this, and she hadn't known him for even an hour! How ridiculous it was that even Rowen himself hadn't known this about himself all his life until a woman he JUST met told him!

He hung his head and sighed.  
"Well then," he began, giving Kuea a somewhat bittersweet beam. "I'm happy to know that someone cared enough to break it to me."  
That was when a timer rang, a long, loud, very annoying ring. This meant that the one hour to talk with her was up, and Kuea was the last Eldel Raid he was going to be interviewing with. Rowen wasn't going to be talking to anymore today, but he may speak with three more tomorrow if the administrators decide that none of the Eldel Raids he spoke with today would be the best partner for him.  
The ringing was,now beginning to get on his nerves. But with the shame of his self realization, Rowen didn't bother even turning off the timer despite its ear piercing cries.  
So Kuea turned it off for him.

"SHUT UP!" She roared before grabbing the timer off of the desk. The blonde was suddenly alarmed by her actions that his mind had no other room to think. Instead he watched as she chunked the timer across the room, see it shatter into several fragments, and the room go dead silent.  
After what seemed like forever, Kuea turned around to face him with a smile.  
"Sorry about that." She said. "I hope all of those pieces don't bother you."  
He colored upon looking at the wall, where the paint was ripped off from the plastic timer that hit it seconds ago, and what remained of it laying on the ground below. A truth made him laugh.  
"Actually," he chuckled "they do."


	2. Play Date: Getting To Know You

It was Saturday. Oh glorious Saturday, the day Rowen was allowed to take a break from work, despite the fact that he really hadn't been working that long this week. But the reason Rowen was happy it was Saturday was because he could sleep in. There was nothing Rowen loved more than sleeping in as late as he could until his body said rest no more! And such a line was rare from his body thanks to all the dreams he often gets.  
Of course the dream he had that morning in particular was about his future work partner; according to Lieutenant Cruz it was going to be one of the three that he interviewed a week ago. Maude, Corin or Kuea.  
He sighed; Rowen shouldn't have to worry about who he was going to be paired up with, after all, all the Eldel Raids he interviewed with were perfectly fine.

Well... On second thought Kuea may make him a tad uncomfortable being around all the time. Sure seeing her now and then would be alright, but every day, around the clock, 24/7, would actually bother him. Rowen wasn't all that secretive; if someone asked about something from his younger days, he wouldn't hesitate to tell. But that didn't mean that he didn't like keeping a few things to himself- like his pride issues and a few other things that he never felt like thinking about.  
Just after an hour Kuea figured out one of his personal demons, and there were several more that probably wouldn't take long for her discover if she was observing him at that rate.

He began to shove his head into his pillow, harder and harder, almost to the point where it became slightly difficult to breathe. Then he attempted to sigh.  
When he thought about it some more, Rowen _really_ didn't want Kuea to be his partner for the rest of his career at Arc Aile, the place he planned to work at for a long while. He probably wouldn't even be able to write in a diary if he wanted without Kuea somehow finding out! That woman was clever, using her ability to see through people as though it were nothing at all to her advantage!  
Yeah. Rowen didn't want Kuea as a partner. Not as much as the other two he met. Maude and Corin seemed to have respected his personal space, respected the things he kept personal, the things which only he knew. Kuea walked into the room and started asking him questions like a police interrogator who had known him from past experiences.

A sudden knock on his door kept him from falling back to sleep, and it wasn't the front door which led to his living room, it was the door which led to his bedroom. In his accommodation, one would have to cross the living room to reach his chamber, so whoever was behind the postern had keys to his apartment. Unless someone broke in; but people who broke into your house never knocked.  
"Who is it?" He called, assuming it was someone from Arc Aile given that the apartment he lived in was in their grounds. Rowen then shut his eyes, just in time to hear another knock.  
"Who is it?!" He echoed a bit louder.  
"It's Lieutenant Cruz." The voice behind called. "Can we come in?"  
Rowen's eyes bolted open.  
We?  
Who was this 'We?'  
Obviously Cruz wasn't alone, otherwise he wouldn't have said that. Unless he went crazy recently between now and last week, which was most unlikely.  
"Who are you with?" He asked, hoping that Cruz wouldn't open the door and didn't invade his privacy. Silence followed his question, causing the blonde to lift his head and gaze to the door. Cruz was whispering to someone, he could hear it. Who it was, unfortunately, was not of his knowledge, for he could not recognize the tone.  
"I'm here with your new partner. I thought that you two could go out on your day off to get to know each other better." Cruz replied after a minute or two of silence.

That got Rowen's attention.  
He was up in a matter of seconds, flinging the maroon covers on his bed to the ground after a gasp. Almost as soon as his feet hit the floor, Rowen stripped himself of of his sleep wear.  
"Oh!" The blonde replied as he dug through his wardrobe for his uniform. "I-I'll be out in a minute, Lieutenant Cruz!"  
Panic was suddenly taking over his every thought; today was the day that he was going to be partnered up with an Eldel Raid, and in the future he will be her Pleasure. What an unnerving thought it was; one of the three girls he met was standing behind his door next to Lieutenant Cruz, and he as going to be stuck with her for a long time.

He had to make the best impression.  
Unless it was Kuea.  
Rowen had no need to make an impression on Kuea; she already knew everything about him. And part of him wished that she wasn't the one waiting on him to get ready.  
But, with a sigh, Rowen reminded himself that this had to be dealt with eventually. His robe was on. His shoes were on. His thin blonde hair was tied back in his trademark ponytail. His gloves were on his hands, ready for any task. But Rowen himself was anything but ready to face what was on the other side of the door he stood in front of.  
He was a nervous wreck. Evidence was bountiful. His bed was not made, sheets and comforters were scattered across the ground, the panel to his wardrobe was hanging open, even his sleeping clothes were wadded up in the corner; something he usually couldn't stand.

The warmth pooling in his stomach informed him that he had a bad really feeling about this.

"Sorry if I took to long." The man said as he opened the door to the living room where he was met by two people. Cruz was there of course, but his eyes didn't dare wonder over to who stood next to him. He was too scared to. Rowen knew. He just knew it was going to be Kuea!  
And, almost right on cue, the woman next to the Lieutenant replied.  
"Nah." The Eldel Raid muttered. "Thirty seconds wasn't too long."

Rowen's heart stopped, and he had to nearly kill himself just to keep his eyes from glaring at the Lieutenant before him. He may not have recognized her tone from a distance, but up close Rowen could pick it out even if he were deaf. And he was... Very disappointed.  
There she stood, tan skin and all. Her long, dark brown hair decorated with chains, her torso covered with a short black top, and her legs protected by a thin fabric made into a flowing skirt. A grin was painted upon her lips, which complimented her sparkling red eyes which were locked upon him.  
It indeed was Kullweet Envatilia, who was better known by her nickname, Kuea.

"Good morning, new partner!" The she shouted, then threw her arms around his shoulders. It was then his eyes dared to wonder to the person directly up next to him. Red irises met his purple. So he then had to shut them and spread a fake smile on his lips.  
"Good morning Kuea." He said with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head in the process.

"I pray you slept well last night, Rowen." Lieutenant Cruz said to him with a smile as Kuea detached from him. "You and Kuea have a big day ahead of yourselves after all."  
Kuea stood next to him with an easy smile on her face, her eyes refusing to leave him. That meant that Rowen was just standing there in the door frame of his room being stared at by two people. He didn't have a clue to look at in return.  
"I figured since we're going be teammates we should spend the weekend together." The woman said with a devious ring to her tone. "The sooner we get to know each other, the better." She gave him a long look. "Of course I must have your say so. What do you think?"

A sigh escaped Rowen's mouth.

What was Cruz's reason as to pairing him up with Kuea? They were complete opposites as far as he knew! People who didn't have agreeing opinions never made the best teammates! Didn't he know that? Were they paired up because Kuea could not just see his modest shell but instead to his prideful core?

"I don't see why not." Rowen replied, acting as though he liked the idea.  
Kuea immediately grabbed his wrist after that.  
"Good because we're goin' to Subway!" She told him, then began to drag him towards the front door of his apartment with a death grip on his hand. Rowen's face gave away that he was amazed by her strength.  
"W-Wait!" He cried as they went out the door."I didn't mean right this minute! I haven't made my bed yet!"  
That was when the door slammed, leaving Cruz in the apartment alone to laugh to himself.

"Well then." He muttered aloud, then plopped down on one of the couches in the room. "Rowen may be a little angry at me," he paused. "But I have confidence that Kullweet will be a good person for him to be with. Of course he won't understand now, but I'm sure they will eventually become great friends."  
He paused.  
"Why on earth am I talking to myself?"

XXXXXXX

Rowen cleared his throat.  
He was wondering around the Arc Aile protection grounds with Kuea along with a plastic Subway bag clutched his gloved hand. Of course it was heavy for a simple disposable bag, he went to get something with his new partner, Kullweet Envatilia. He may not know about her as much as she knew about him, but Rowen just discovered a brand new fact about this oddly placed Eldel Raid.  
Kuea ordered A LOT if food at a restaurant, which he didn't mind too much, just as long as she ate it. After all, it wasn't coming out of his wallet, it was coming from Arc Aile's. He just couldn't stand the sight of wasted food.

"Hey Rowen, how about we eat here!" Kuea shouted despite the fact that he was _right_ behind her. She quickly discovered that the second she turned around once her face came in contact with the roof of his chest  
"Oh," she smiled. "I didn't know you were that close to me." The woman continued as she plopped down on a bench which sat in front of a central fountain. "I figured that you would have tried to run off with our lunch while I wasn't looking."

A nervous laugh escaped Rowen's mouth as a blush kept across his face; he was actually starting to consider doing that.  
"My pride issues aren't that bad." He replied as he took a seat next to her. He then dug around inside the plastic bag, where he soon fished out a foot long sandwich, which he handed to her. "I feel bad that you assume that of me." Was added.

Before Rowen could even bring out his own, Kuea had already ripped the paper wrapping around her sandwich completely off, and part of it was being chewed up.  
"Well," she began with a full mouth. "I know you don't like me that much. So I guess it's alright to guess you would do that."  
Rowen paused; his eyes fixed forward, seeming to gaze off into the horizon of the morning. Of course he wasn't. His mind was elsewhere, and his eyes were looking off into space.  
Kuea was good; she figured it out already. Rowen tried his best not to make his disliking of her obvious, and he actually thought he was doing a good job at hiding it. Apparently he wasn't. There was plenty of proof.

The man cleared his throat.  
"It's not that I don't like you at all, Kuea..." He replied, quickly trying not to make it seem that he hates everyone he looks down upon. That was because Rowen looked down upon everyone he met, unless it was someone higher status than him like Lieutenant Cruz, General Falk or his father. Kuea was just a simple Eldel Raid, so what if she was first class?  
A laugh escaped the woman's mouth as she took another bite from the sub in her hands. Questions immediately began to circulate through Rowen's mind, wondering what the simple chuckle meant.

"I think that you judge a book by its cover a bit too often." Her lips said. "That's a problem lots of pride submerged people have, but correct me if I'm wrong about you."  
The man sitting next to her pulled out his lunch before he replied. The rippling of the plastic bag would have been a nuisance for when he spoke, so Kuea waited until he was done for him to talk, unless if he was deliberately ignoring her. Which he was not.  
Rowen held the sandwich in his gloved hands, his eyes sauntered elsewhere, a neutral frown plastered on his face, and a slight expression of deep hesitation hid itself within the purple iris of his gaze.  
"I don't do it all the time." He sheepishly replied before taking a bite of his sub. "But when I do I am usually right."  
"Then what did you think about when you first saw me, Rowen?" Kuea immediately asked as soon as he finished speaking. "Tell me your first impression, alright?"

Silence erupted between the two not long after Kuea's question.  
They just sat there in the silence; Rowen nibbled on his sandwich like a little mouse an a huge piece of cheese, and of course, Kuea was gobbling every inch of hers down as though it were planning to run away if she didn't.  
Rowen was very unsure of what to say to her. Sure he didn't have nice thoughts about her at first, but she came out better than he assumed the beginning. The things he thought back then were the problem now. He really didn't want to say them. He _really_ didn't want to say them. He begged to God that he would magically make Kuea forget her question she had asked if him.  
Of course God liked being humorous sometimes, and he did nothing to alter Kuea's mind. She didn't forget anything, she didn't change the subject, she didn't even say another word. Kuea just sat there, stuffing the sub in her mouth while awaiting his response.

"You know Rowen," Kuea began suddenly, filling him with both dread and somehow hope at the same time. "If you don't want to tell me because it's something mean I have so advice for you."  
The blonde remained silent, still nibbling on his sandwich. Of course he wanted to hear her suggestion, but if he asked what it was, Kuea would know that he did have rude things to say about her. And the last thing Rowen wanted was to hurt her.  
Or... Did his silence already tell her what he had considered?

Kuea cleared her throat.  
"If you know that what you thought was ugly, then maybe you should try to train yourself think otherwise next time."  
A blush crept across Rowen's face; he was right, his silence told her everything.  
"Well it's not like it was extremely rude," Rowen quickly replied. "I just thought that you might have been a lazy person who didn't work very hard. I wasn't exactly sure how you would take this, that is why I took so long to respond." After that, he finally took an actual bite from his sub sandwich.

A stare was set upon him. He could feel her blood-red eyes rest on the side of his cheek, and he didn't even dare to turn and look back at them.  
"Why did you think I was going to turn out to be a lazy person?" She asked. "Is it the way I look or something?"  
"No!" Rowen spat, the panic caused him to drop his sandwich, which soon became the least of his concerns. "It has nothing whatsoever to do with the way you look at all, Kuea! As a matter of fact, you're very fit and I would've thought you were an athlete!" He let out a quivered sigh. "It was just the chips you carried into the room. I assumed you were a couch potato with all the junk food you had brought."  
The woman's laugh followed Rowen's statement. One of her hands, which were covered in the dark purple gloves, was brought up to her mouth, and her eyes were shut tightly with her giggle. It was a friendly laugh though; not one that taunted or made fun of.  
"Oh Rowen..." She chortled. "At least you care about my feelings. You're a gentlemen nonetheless." The woman set her other hand on his shoulder, and it was then Rowen decided to gaze at her. His violet eyes clashed with her red, and it was almost as if her pupils said more to him than her words.  
"Rowen," Kuea began. "You and I are going to get along very well."  
The woman did something remarkable after that. She held out the sub in her hand to him, offering it.  
"By the way, you dropped your sandwich," she smiled. "but you're more than welcome to have mine."

XXXXXXX

Rowen's violet eyes rest upon the board. Both he and Kuea sat there in the lobby of the entrance building of Arc Aile's protection grounds, quiet as a mouse ready to take something. Kuea sat across from him; a bag of sunflower seeds rested in the palm of her slender hand, her right leg crossed over her left, and a rather devious grin found itself a home across her tanned face.  
Rowen didn't like that smirk. He didn't like it one bit. As a matter of fact, he probably hated it. He didn't like it because it taunted him, it called out his name.  
"You're going to lo-ose!" The grin seemed to sing to him, which boiled his blood. The pearly white teeth underneath his lips began to grind against one another, and his mind tried to formulate a plan and deal with the anger erupting inside him to keep it tame.  
Kuea backed him into a corner in this game of chess, and that corner had little space to wiggle around in. That, of course, irritated his prideful mind, and when his mind became irritated from an imperfect performance, it made him think as straight as a drunkard.

There was a rustling from the sunflower seed bag Kuea had, causing his eyes to bolt up at her. Her hand was inside the container, fingers wiggling around to grab some of the seeds, and once she got a fist full, they were all cleanly thrown into her mouth, where she chewed and swallowed them, shell and all.  
"You'll get splinters in your esophagus if you don't spit out the hulls." He muttered. "Surgery to get them out is pricy, and there is a high chance of you having to be hooked up to a respirator for the rest of your life afterwards."  
The devious grin on Kuea's face refused to go away.  
"I know what you're doing." She replied. "You're scared aren't 'cha?"  
"Why would I be scared?"  
"Because you know you're in check."

Rowen paused so his face could grow sour without interruption. His lips formed into a steep arch, his mouth sucked in as though he had eaten a lemon, and his eyes squinted to glare at the chess board on the coffee table in front of him. There really was no way to turn the tables on this game; Kuea had him under control on every piece he had, any move he made would leave a spot open where she could strike. This made him flustered and mad. When he was in elementary school, Rowen was then chess champion! He could beat the teachers if they bothered to play! And here he was being beat by Kuea, who was eating sunflower seeds without spitting out the shells!  
Accepting the situation, Rowen sighed, if it wasn't a groan.  
"Fine." He muttered as his finger moved a knight. The move enraged his prideful mind, almost as though a war was going on inside of his head. That was mostly because the move would lead to his defeat.

Of course Kuea took the opportunity to win. Her fingers swiftly brought the king to the other end of the board, where it then sat just inches from the blonde.  
"Checkmate!" She peeped with a smile, then held out her hand, offering a shake. "Good game." Was added.  
Rowen frowned; he didn't like to shake people's hands after losing to them, yet at the same time he didn't like being a sore loser. That was what caused the war in his head to continue. Cannons were shot, guns were fired, an inferno broke out to consume whatever it touched.

"Good game." He complied. The words sort of spilled out like loose vomit though, there was no sincerity to them. His hand reached up to hers, and they slowly shook.  
"So now what?" Kuea asked once standing to her feet. "Are we going to play again? Are we going to do something else?"  
Rowen shrugged as his fingers buzzed around the board, putting all the chess pieces back to their respectful positions they take at the beginning of a game. He shook his head after a while of doing so.  
"I know I am not in the mood for another game," he replied. "But I'm not sure what we are going to do in the meantime."

Kuea stood there looking down at him. He was quickly putting everything back, either out of courtesy, because his perfectionist vibe told him to, or perhaps both. Either way, she stood there and continued to gobble down the sunflower seeds, still swallowing the shells despite what Rowen had told her little over a minute or two ago.

It was starting to get late. A glance at the clock told her that it was eight o'clock, which meant that things around the Arc Aile protection grounds were going to start shutting down in a matter of an hour or so, that was with the exception of restaurants and places people on a Saturday night would be interested in going to.  
There was Denny's.

There was a casino.

There was a theater.

And a Wal-Mart, which stayed open 24-7 anyways, so with at was the big fuss over that?

None of those places appealed to Kuea at all when she thought about it. Not a single one. So from that point she stayed quiet in hesitation, barely noticing Rowen when he finally stood up from the sofa. The chess board was back in order; each piece was perfectly in the center of each square, almost to the point were Kuea would've figured that her future Pleasure had slight OCD. Her thoughts were suddenly cut off but the clearing of his throat.

"Well then." Rowen muttered. He stood next to her, violet eyes resting upon her hesitant face. "Do you have any ideas?"  
She quickly shook her head, which was followed by a chuckle from the blonde which stood next to her.  
"You said you wanted to spend the day with me so we can get to know each other," The blonde said to her. "I figured you would have at least planned something."  
Kuea laughed back, mostly because Rowen was right; she should have thought about at least _something_ out if she wanted to have a play date with him... But she did say that she wanted to Subway, that was some type of thinking ahead, wasn't it?

"I thought we could improvise." Kuea replied with a grin before she threw some more sunflower seeds into her mouth. "It's a big world out there, we can figure something out."  
Rowen's mouth dropped into a frown; it was too early to just go back to the apartment complex, and it was too late to do anything but go out to eat something. Nobody was even around to give him suggestions except for a few guards at the front gate to make sure nobody got in or out of the Arc Aile's grounds, and they wouldn't talk to anyone unless they were up in the ranks, which Rowen, to his disliking, wasn't.  
Bt almost in the nick of time, a voice from behind called out to them, one that was soft name familiar.  
"Oh, I have looked around for you two." The tone said to them.

Rowen glanced over his shoulder to see an approaching Sunweld. His face was painted with that always easy smile, which went good with his uniform he wouldn't leave home without. The blonde grinned; someone was here to save him from this boredom here in the middle of a room with some weird Eldel Raid!  
"Good evening, Senpai." He greeted with a bow.  
"It is a nice afternoon," the brunette agreed. "And I presume you two are getting along with each other on one so rare?"  
Kuea giggled once she got done swallowing the sunflower seeds and their husks, and her red eyes seems to glimmer upon hearing Sunweld's question.  
"Oh yeah, we've had a great day." She replied. "I thought that Rowen tried to run off with our sandwiches a couple of hours ago, and we just got done with a game of chess."

Sunweld looked at both, hesitating.  
"Really now?" He replied, then turned to Rowen. "It's brave to challenge Rowen to a game of chess. I am guessing he is the one who won."  
Rowen immediately colored, almost as though someone ran up to him with a can of red paint with a paintbrush, and covered him his face with the crimson liquid. Needless to say, he stood quiet, having been reminded of his defeat.  
"No." Kuea grinned. "I did."  
Sunweld laughed; not one that was taunting to the blonde, but more of one that said 'I told you it would happen one day.'

"Well then," the oldest said. "What a rare happening; I never would have guessed the day would actually come. But I came or tell to two that Challo and I were going to have a meeting with Lieutenant Cruz here in a few minutes, and we were wanting to have the two of you join us."

Rowen lit up; Finally! Something to do with not just Kuea!

"Of course we will join you!" the blonde quickly replied. "It would be rude to decline the offer, wouldn't it?"  
"Just as long as it's not boring." Kuea added before throwing more seeds in her mouth. "I hate meetings that talk about government and all of that stuff that makes you worried all the time."  
Sunweld immediately shook his head.  
"It's not like that at all, Miss Kullweet, rest assured." He replied. "It's just a Saturday night get together, nothing more."  
The woman sighed and looked down at the sunflower seeds bag. It was empty of its contents now, not a crumb was left to be alone forever.  
"We should be underway then," Rowen said as he and Sunweld began to head for the exit of the the room.

"Alright," Kuea replied. "I'll go throw this away real quick."  
She ran off behind then to a trash can, which was a few feet away. Rowen didn't waste this moment to say something he has wanted to say to either Sunweld or Cruz all day long since he discovered Kuea was his new partner. The blonde ran up to him mentor's side, where his head was level with his, and he quickly set his mouth up against the other man's ear, which was hidden by a few locks of hair.  
"Senpai," he began, grabbing the brunette's attention. He turned to him, his face looking at his, and his expression said he was listening. Rowen cleared his throat. "Senpai, with all due respect, I would like to hold a private conversation with you some time this week regarding my new partner."

Sunweld frowned, then sighed.  
"I understand." He replied. "But it might be a while until I get some time to speak with you alone. I hope you understand and will have the patients until the time comes."  
Rowen's eyes were focused on him, occasionally they darted over to Kuea, and then they would just go back over to his former mentor. After a minute of thinking, he nodded.  
"I can wait, Senpai." He replied.

Of course Rowen said he could wait, that was his desire to make his outer shell look nice saying that. His core, however, begged to talk with Sunweld the second he was alone with him. He wanted to drag him into a room, lock the door, and force the man to talk with him. That was because Rowen did not want Kuea to be the partner he was going to work with on every mission, every task, and every job that will be given to him for the rest of his Arc Aile career.  
Period.


End file.
